Southern Stone Co. v. Singer
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
665 F.2d 698 (5th Cir. 1982)
After S&M Materials Company dissolved without paying Southern Stone Company (plaintiff) for limestone it had purchased, Southern Stone sought payment from Thomas Moore (defendant), a former S&M officer who by then ran his own separate company; about a year after S&M dissolved, Southern Stone sent Moore a letter describing his past dealings with S&M and asking him to respond if anything was inaccurate, but Moore — who testified he felt no need to respond since he was no longer involved with S&M — never replied. At trial, the letter was admitted as an adoptive admission based on Moore's silence, the jury found against Moore, and he appealed the letter's admission.
Whether a party's failure to respond may be admitted into evidence under the adoptive-admission exception to the hearsay rule if the context indicates a response was not reasonably expected.